Printing machine



Feb. 29, 1944.

c. H. SAND, JR 2,342,698

PRINTING MACHINE Original Filed Oct. 10, 1940 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 14min n lll wil-N- Feb. 29, 1944. c. H. SAND, JR 24,342,698

PRINTING MACHINE Original Filed Oct. 10, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I i 7f 2 75 i BY @M24 W ZR@ Patented Feb. 29, 1944 PRINTING MACHINE Charles H. Sand,

Original applicationv Oct 360,573. Divided and 1941, Serial No. `387,158

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a portable manuallyoperable printing or addressing machine and particularly to a comparatively small device adapted to be carried'from place to place and manipulated by one hand of the operator to impress characters on a suitable record sheet. This application is a division of my copending application No. 360,573, led October 10, 1940.

Like the parent case above-mentioned, the device of this patent in its preferred form comprises a head adapted to carry a removable embossed plate with an inking ribbon extending across it and a platen adapted to force the record material against the ribbon to receive an impression from the plate. The head is provided with a handle, preferably in the form of a p-istol-grip, and the platen is operated by a finger lever adjacent the handle, so that the operator can carry the device and effect the impression withmone hand. This division is concerned especially with the platen and its operating mechanism, including Jr., Willoughby, Ohio, assigner to Addressograph- Multigraph Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware ober 10,- 1940, Serial No. this application April 7,

the feature of divided platen so arranged that n either section may be used to the'exclusion of the other, or both together, as desired.

My invention is illustrated in the drawings hereof, and the preferred embodiment there shown is hereinafter more fully explained, including features which only indirectly coact with the platen operating mechanism of this application. In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan of the printing device; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a front View, with the handle partly broken away; Fig. 4 is a plan of an illustrative embossed plate which may bev employed in the printing device; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through the device in a plane indicated by the line 5-5 on Fig. 6; Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the entire device; Fig.7 is a detailin vertical section in a plane indicated by the line l--l on Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a vertical section in the plane indicated by the line 8-8 on Fig. 6.

The main frame of the printing device is preferably one integral member comprising av head l0, a shank Il extending rearwardly therefrom and a handle I2 extending downwardly from the shank and fo-rmed with a forwardly upwardly extending open groove I3 into which the operating handle may extend. The head carries on its under face the embossed plate, and on its opposite sides ribbon spools from which an inked ribbon extends beneath the plate, as hereinafter explained.

The platen carrying frame of this device V,come prises a hollow arm 2IJ bifurcatedtoprovldetwo rearwardly extending spaced wings 2I which extend onto opposite sides'of the shank of the main member to which it is pivoted .b y a transverse pin 30. This platen arm carries special platens as hereinafter described to coact with the ribbon and plate. y -Y w y The operating lever 40 of the device lies in the front-portion of the. handle groove I3 and is pivoted by a pin 4I extending intofears I4 which project forwardly from the handle member at opposite sides of the groove. At its upper end the lever 40 is provided with a recess 42 bounded by a lug 43 in front thereof and a lug t4 of less height at-the rear. vThe recess is normally occupied .by a roller 5I) which lies within the hollowplaten member `2l] and is journalled on a pin 5I mounted inthe downwardly extending side portion of such member. 'A tension spring 55 is anchored at its upper end to a pin 56 carried by the platen member andr'at its lower endto the pin 5'! `carried bythe back of the handle member. yThis springlies within` the grooveof the handle member, vvas shown particularly infFig. 6, vand tendsnto maintain the roller down in the recess at the upper end of .v the operating handle 4D and such springvaction normally holds the operating handle inthe position shown in Fig. 6. The lug 43 in front of the roller 50 prevents rearwardlmovement of` the upper end of thehandle but the lug`44 is low enough and gradual enough so that it can move beneath the roller.A The result is that if the operator, grasping the handle I 2, pulls the lever, by his lingers,` into Athe groove I3, the lug 44 rides beneath the roller 50 stretching the spring andy forcing the platen carried by the arm 2i] into coaction with theribbon and plate to effect the printing, f Y

Referring now yto the plate and the means by which it is carried by the head, a specimen plate is indicated at A in Fig. 4. Myv machine is adapted for printing either or both oftwo sets of embossed data on the plate, as for instance, two Vrelated addresses as indicated at a and af-I on Fig. 4. Such plate may conveniently be a tag provided with an opening' a.-2 bywhich it may be carried by a cord or hook, for instance. The plate also may have a recess 0,-3, eccentrically placed at the end, cooperating with a suitable stop on the printing device to insure the plate being inserted right side up and right end foremost. y g Secured to opposite sidesrof the head IU'are two strips extending below the underface `of the head III, which underface is dat in the region between` the strips and above the flanges;

The platen member is normally locked in an inactive position by a slidable latch bar 70 which is mounted on the underside of the shank l I and has a limited movement along such shank, the latch having slots 'H through which pins 'l2 pass into the shank. A suitable compression spring i4 mounted in a recess in the shank at the rear of the latch tends to force it forward and normally holds a shoulder 'I5 of the latch in engage* ment with a plate rigidly secured' to the platen arm. This is the position of the parts indicated in Fig. 6, `where it lwill be seen that the latch locks the platen arm against operation.

When a properly' positioned plate is inserted to the limit of its inward movement, so` that the notch a-3 comes about the stop pin 52, the end of the plate abuts the front end oi the latch lo and forces it rearwardly, thus causing Vthe shoulder 15 to clear the plate 25 to release the platen arm, and then the operating lever Eil may be actuated to swingthe eiiect the printing.

The strips 6U' preferably extend forwardly of the head l0, as shown in Figs. l, 2 and 6, to provide guides for the plate. This makes it a simple matter, when the operator holds the device in J one hand grasping the handle |52 and with his ngers about the lever 49, for him to use his other hand to placey the plate in this guideway and then shove it rearwardly into place beneath the head to release the latch lil. The side of one of the guide strips 69 may be bent inwardly as at Gila to furnish friction sullicient to overcome the force of the-light spring M, so that a fully inserted plate will remain in position.

lSuitable means is vvprovided forinking the underside of the yaddress plate. kAs shown, this means comprises inking ribbon S9 wound up on two spools 8|. These spools lie in recesses l? formed in opposite sides, of the head lil, the forward ends of the spoolsbei-ng mounted on fixed p-ins 82 and the rear ends carried by slidable pins St normally pressed by springs 85 into engaging position. This enables either spool to be rotated by the knurled heady of its pin St to bring a fresh' portion of the ribbon into ooaction with the plate.

The spools are' normally encased by a removable sheet metal hood B which extends lengthwise over the head and is clamped in place by a spring controlled pin 9|. The lower edges of the hood extend inwardly to act as a mask to define the printing area.-

I have referred to the plate A of Fig. 4 as carrying two related legends and to the machine as being able to print either or both of them as de sired. This is one of the important features of the present application. In eiecting such printing I provide two platen members side-by-side mounted on the platen arm 2o, either or bothl of which members may -be raised so as to be active for prin-ting. Thus, as shown inFigs. 5 to 8, I provide two bars |00 and lill pivoted by a transverse pin |62 tothe platen arm 2o. The bar |06 carries on yits upper facel a rubber-platen block l G4 and the bar ||J| carries a platen block |95 shown `as wider than the'block |504. The two arms |08 platen arm upwardly to #i and lill rest on a pin H0 mounted in the platen arm 2i) and are maintained in engagement with such pin by springs |66 and l'l respectively, which are attached at their upper ends to pins its depending from the bars and at their lower ends to a cross pin |69 carried by the platen arm.

The control pin ||0 is formed with two flat faces diametrically opposite each other. That is to say a fiat face Fig. 7, which is shown as in engagement with the bar |00 and a flat face H2 which is shown as on the under-side of the pin and distant from the bar Il. With the control pin in this position the bar |0| is at a Sullioient elevation so that when the platen arm is operated by the lever 40 an impression will be made between the platen |135 and that portion of the embossed plate which is directly above it. If the control pin I 8 were turned 180 then the platen H34 would be raised to active position and the platen E released and drawn by its spring ill to idle position. With that setting the handle il would print from the portion of the plate corresponding to the platen It. If the control pin lili were turned from the position shown in Fig. 'l the cylindrical portion of the pin would engageboth bars |60 and |0| and both platens itt and |35 would effect an impression.

he control pin l il has sufiicient friction in its mounting to prevent displacement but is readily turned by` a knurled head l5 on the pin. A suitable mark on the knurled head and cooperating indicia on the side of the platen arm, as indicated in Fig. 3, may show the user at a glance the setting oi the control pin. Thus, with the arrow f pointing to the numeral 3 as shown in Fig.V 2,

the indication may be that the wide platen only is active, printing three lines of type, for instance, the group a in Fig. 4. If however, the arrow pointed to the numeral 2 then only the narrow platen would be active and printing two lines of type, as in the group a-i. If the arrow pointed to 5, both platens would be active for printing' ve lines, which could be the groups a and a-I.

It will be seen that my printing machine is a l comparatively small, simple device, which may be readily carried about and conveniently manipulated by the hand of the operator. The formation of the handle into the form of a pistol grip and the forming of the operating lever to be readily forced into the hollow of that grip bythe ngers of the hand engaging the gripI provide very convenient meansv forcarrying the device and operating it. The operating parts are compactly arranged within the instrument itself and are carried primarily by the two main members, namely, the head frame and the platen frame. The independent platens are carried in simple manner and easily selected.

Such a device as herein shown and described has a wide variety of uses. For instance, in store tokens it is very convenient to carry several lines of type. For instance, it might be desired to have a mans name with his oce address and his wifes name with the house address for rendering accounts at either place or for making a proper entry for delivery to the house and the bill sent to the olii-ce. In keeping track of payrolls in some operations, it is desirable to have the workmen carry a tag and present it to an attendant of certain stations. In some large hospitals each patient is supplied with a tag and imprint -is madefroin one region thereof by the nurse on the permanent hospital record from time to time in connection with operations or medicines supplied or other items of which a record is to be kept in association with the particular patient. These uses are cited merely as examples to indicate the variety of uses to which the device may be put.

I claim:

l. In a printing device, the combination of a head adapted to carry a removable printing plate, a movable platen arm, two bars independently movably mounted on the arm and each carrying a platen, a flattened cross pin mounted in the platen arm and having one flattened portion to coact with one bar and the other flattened portion with the other bar, whereby the pin may set either bar to be active, and means for operating the platen arm to print from the selected bar.

2. In a portable addressing device, the combination of a head provided with means for carrying a printing plate on its underside, a shank leading rearwardly from the head, a pistol grip extending downwardly from the shank, a platen arm pivoted at its rear end to the shank and free at its forward end, a pair of bars side by side, each pivoted to the platen arm and extending from their pivots toward the free end of the arm, a rotatable pin mounted in the arm extending crosswise of the bars adjacent their free ends and having two camming regions diierently located about the pin and adapted to coact with the respective bars to render active one or the other as desired, and a lever 1n front of the pistol grip adapted to swing the platen arm with its bars upwardly, each bar carrying a pad adapted to coact with a portion of the printing plate on the head.

3. In a printing device, the combination of a head formed to carry a printing plate, a handle connected with the head by an intermediate portion, a platen arm pivoted to the intermediate portion and extending across the head, an operating lever in front of the handle, means whereby it may act on said arm to move it with reference to the head, two platen-carrying bars pivotally secured to the arm, and a single selecting member acting on the bars adjacent their free ends and which in one position makes one bar active and in another position makes the other bar active.

4. The combination of a head provided with means for carrying a removable printing plate, a shank leading from the head, the pistol 4grip connected to the shank, a platen arm pivoted to the shank, a pair of bars pivoted to the arm and extending lengthwise thereof and each carrying a pad adapted to coact with a portion of the printing plate on the head, a rotative pin mounted in the platen arm and extending crosswise thereof and formed with two camming surfaces,

each associated with a respective bar, whereby either bar may be held in active position relative to the platen arm, and a lever adjacent the pistol grip and adapted to move the platen arm toward the plate carrying head.

5. In a printing device, the combination of a frame, a printing head thereon, a platen arm pivotally mounted on the frame, two platencarrying bars pivotally secured to the arm and extending from their pivots toward the free end of the platen arm, a single selecting device comprising a cross member mounted in the platen arm and having two independent camming surfaces associated with the two bars respectively, whereby said member in one position may make one bar active and in another position makes the other bar active, a downward extension of the frame constituting a pistol grip, and means adjacent such extension for moving the platen arm to4 print by the selected platen bar.

6. In a portable addressing device, the combination of a head provided with means for carrying a printing plate on its underside, a shank leading rearwardly from the head, a handle extending downwardly from the shank, a platen arm pivoted at its rear end to the shank and free at its forward end, a pair of bars side by side, each pivoted to the platen arm and extending from their pivots toward the free end of the arm, each bar carrying a pad adapted to coact with a portion of the printing plate on the head, said platen arm having downwardly extending side flanges, a pin rotatively mounted in said side anges and extending crosswise of the bars beneath them adjacent their free ends and having two camming regions differently located about the pin and adapted to coact with the respective bars to raise one or the other as desired, spring means for maintaining the bars on said pin, and a knob on one end of the pin on the outer side of the arm.

CHARLES H. SAND, JR. 

